Electroplating and lacquering apparatus.



J. J. MACE & J. R. MURR.

ELECTROPLATING AND LACQUERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. 1915.

219 663, Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

1.]. MACE & J. R. MURR.

ELECTROPLATING AND LACQUERING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9. 1915.

1,210,663. Patent-ed Jan. 2,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 UNITED STATES PATENT ornien;

JOHN J. MACE AND JOHN BOY MURR, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

I ELECTROPLATING AND LACQUERING APPARATUS.

1,210,663. Specification. of Letter? Patent Patented Jan. 2, 1917.Application filed October 9, 1915. Serial No. 55,038.

T ll'who it ay concern i 11 which receive electric current from a Be itknown that We, JOHN J. MACE and suitable vmachine 12 whereby the reaseand JOHN Ror MURR, citizens of the United dirt on the fabric is removed.T e current States, and residents of York, county of supplying unit 12consists of a low voltage 60 York, State: of Pennsylvania, have inventedhigh amperage electrolytic generator 13 certain new and usefulImprovements in driven by a suitable electric motor 14 mount-Electroplating and Lacquering Apparatus, ed on the generator shaft. Thecurrent from of which the following is a specification. the generator 13is supplied by the main 15 This invention relates to an apparatus fortothe bearings 17 of the upper rolls 18, the '65 1o electro plating orgalvanizing wire cloth bearings 17 being connected together by'the sun.41: tbnnqarrqn gtkuhs lean la JBGll iii! s new a [aregmmialutwrsnfiz?M153mzuiuirimstfimfibieormrimt u t u gm lig' a myyi'gljzalb i mi dfl' 1161111 [1r 0mm i l rig: err .atatdrl: L h min 1: us (emp re in [Still it his (511 utr 1 lofrnui elfifi'filfillitlji cjiaqsbtimgig1mteflstnmurvirrm shsufiti" )1 hibhhitliil lliluhcdarirfgugsledsidinizg d m. pcblzcqoggpemiaiibnomotethdotia :cxppnmmdaaidrmu 1!;[5 l 'iuiilill'lihkfliduli w2 )qov .di les mmppnarmtaisu;E1M1l5lShl-EtillI210ii165]E1Ililfliifllwlsihlthtlllfll'lflM5ll whichhmmgupscsesl aijulnmla'lllygoEcileutciclg agcn-whoreiqhythmaniotahatqrtltchfcttliiailwinid liis u g 1 mg? 31 l mg mm i4 xm pl g'lggl i 1 l31 1 sielgfi l E ,j th 3 2 leotfitmitialll ycluiugfagiu l Il a? ethtmu'r 3131i [16L E1 l( r E \tuirhst: )aiciglwriunagrgl:ismttizltaltlulysynmyaycdn lllelsgigrerartato i sis mmcnteml nprcmmi16ba' 1 1r: m searmtaliy; n [(1rd nimlulatannmiyl ;t [1 mm quplpf": r suilxihalle. 4b [till :1 Elm [C n r e dial 3 :1 0.] u m [iodide i I] 11 511i E m ilettrtci 1 wmemm fl (hitch E: indies a: :1 ii [if id u :g:gelhf- 1 HL'W mismatch dLml ll'fil'. tykyei sulhinio: 1 .1: :ln minim;l9 diuhe En filth empiqmtatu tlusiu my: 3; m uurinm t k lectntcitjty::ie: mammals in n "ieh y m mmy 5; L i minim mains if ct'o l l )lW" tmlorqrlg lhlltllfl sulhitium to? elm it! time dauci r (1eignimgg'gp]mi)]mgpjgaillhblillkfil i zilmizetersintha z:J]EllL iafttti @thin clalmlir'. MEIE teams at] muhkys isle-i 1 gydaiamimingi tatairl 1a! In]!LCBHUHE flu r 'akapmrnig g (16101111 mldlt: l-lllillil i 11 (mitlmomesamt, 31 mode] A 511mm 5 m it he] e imwteniz l1 Latte Ii' ;1' t aheawrEll M1 alwhwzg 1 162m r11 lwihicl 12 as tantrum no h 1a 31 u' 5 sum; su[when :1 iainlnlxss :5 14 t ttlta tthbi mmiatealalis lngzt gvlmanleiul 1{EEBWHM r liW 1 fislr i t'wlaimilldm 2 1 in. .i ll 2 equal-ed (l1 :1 1l; 1031 u l midmier 151M111'JIIOIflfiBiF wi l u nr lp piq "it" 2 [vriu'hh: ii sf s ammo-506E l n m 1i [E gma] hg tum [3 m an [E iyasssswrmmist. 15212 1( tcmziEtwl; rhu'uslnz-J 1 ]({(hglmbmve 0hfi tdybrrnlojlcjgstarafl igidmmulelliajliltyl';7Efllmlliltflj;7Hlammleilltelsms'wiflofifl:bBlISlEAEHiE m In i alieaurese e: if) It tth i: JlmWIllltDll) n viwl'lj 1 b e1agarmmn t 1 4 L1 M15 ll'fimi wwr EL: ii =1 l t red it v 5 fikllm miai 1l 116mm filltllfit ifl'ullwiwpml ncwipizgt'n itz tndwin llG-IIUE] 1' 3i}12 11571 lll m I 595 M n W ii flll il g; nzretitnm 'lwhml u.eirluwiuigsgs aim 'iwihh-fm- 116m mid teomzlz tlmlsl s ebu tramPc'lfltinfi ital 1 liigilgrnc. lispsa aptalzmivievolofj ld gl ht1icitlmsismltitineamrrciizdqmpwddiyl bfnjtifrlzuon 1'; .c'i'n lfl at]:at emutatmfli rfst: ismmtei tithe 11min E1011 m i! E 9) it to )id] (1.mining] gr 'atau m iwihiul s merrier m It] 11 11M 1 35 H l is .c:extrema ale. T'tlih it: min k: omtafiaims all h s 1': niss: a tilt [anxess a (rich 1: m: t M1 52 ive! mlcthitl :u )iulhitw i: 11' which: la]:or s me t vtw maximises 'lhe N in: re: .otti h: as] [no v7; qoammdzdt tr d we. eke:

I which the'fabric describes in the tank and one within the loop. 7

In order to supply suitable electric current to the three tanks 30 Weprovide three separate electro-plating units-32 each consisting of a lowvoltage high amperage electro-plating generator 33 and Y an electricmotor 34 for driving the same. The mains 35 of the generators areconnected to the bearings 36 .of the rolls 37 at the top of the tank,the bearings 36 being of suitable conducting material such as copper andthe shaftsat the ends of the rolls 37 also being conductors to conductthe current through the copper heads on the rolls to the copper sheetsthereon, which sheets come into contact with the wire cloth which passesthrough the tanks 30. The pair of rolls at the top of each tank have thebearings 36 thereof electrically connected to gether by the conductorplates 351. The

pairs of rolls are also connected together through the wire cloth. Theother mains 38 of the generator are severally connected to the anodes 31in the tanks 30 opposite the particular units by the branch 'Wires 381.

It will be seen that a unit is provided for each separate tank in thepresent illustration and by suitable switches or other con-- trol means(not shown) any one or all of the units may be operated to supplycurrent.

to the electro-plating apparatus. Heretofore .'-only one dynamo has beenprovided for furnishing'current to the electro-plating apparatus whichin case of break down required the stoppage of the plant for repairs. Byproviding a" plurality of units,

if one breaks down the others will do the same work by running the clothslower and thereby a stoppage of the plant is eliminated. By providing aplurality of galvanizing tanks connected to a plurality of electricgenerating units one or any number of the galvanizing tanks may be rundepending on the'thickness of the deposit desired.

The solutions in the tanks may be progressively more concentratedbeginning with the solution of the first tank into'which the fabricenters, and the voltages of the current supplied to the series of tanksmay also be progressively increased. 7 Such 'an arrangement of tanks andgenerator units is therefore important since the initial de- The presentposit can be applied by a. weak-current and weak solution While thefabric is rapidly passing through the tank. This initial depositprepares the fabric for rapid treatment in a more concentrated solutionby a' current of greater voltage, since if the fabric is initiallytreated by a current having a comparatively high electro-plating voltagethe fabric may be damaged by arcing, whereas if the initial deposit isdeposited by a lower voltage the fabric will already have a coating whenit reaches the succeeding tanks and in the latter. the voltage can beincreased without injuring the fabric and the deposit of the desiredthickness can be secured much more rapidly. A furtherimportantsuperiority in the quality is ob tained by initially depositing themetal on the fabric from a weak solution by a low voltage, and thissuperiority in quality is due to the fact that the first coatingaccording to testslappears to become more intimately united to thematerial composing the fabric than wherethe material is deposited fromthe concentrated solution by a current of comparatively high voltage..By

the arrangement as indicated greater flexi-' bility and reliability areattained, insuring a larger output from this apparatus than from thosein which only one galvanizing tank and'one electro-plating dynamo isprovided.

Just after the wire fabric leaves the third galvanizing tank it passes anozzle 39 con nected by the branch pipe 40 to the main air supply pipe21 and serving to blow off of the fabric the excess solution carriedupwardly by it. The fabric then passes into and through a tank 41 ofrunning Water which rinses the galvanizing solution off of the fabric.As the wire cloth F leaves the tank 41 it passes a nozzle 42 connectedby 2. branch pipe 43 with the-main air supply pipe 21 and the excesswater is blown there,- from. I

The wire cloth passes into-and through a tank containing lacquer wherebythe galvanized cloth is covered with alacquer-coating. Just after thewire cloth passes from the lacquer tank 44 it moves past the nozzle 45which is connected by a pipe 46 to the pipe 21 and which blows oif'theexcess lacquer on the wire cloth. It will be seen that the lacquer isapplied Whilethe wire cloth is still wet, thus eliminating the ovens ordrying apparatus heretofore thought necesv sarysteps .before lacquercould be applied. The wire cloth then moves upwardly'into a chamber 47and around a guide roller 48 at the top of the chamber which guides thefabric down through a vertically arranged drying and baking'oven 49. Thewire cloth in passing through the oven 49 has the lacqu'er baked on the'wire at about degrees F. and from there the wire cloth passes around aguide roll 50 and upwardly again through the drying chamber 47. At thetop of the drying chamber 47 there is another guide roll 51 which guidesthe wire cloth downwardly into a cooling chamber 52 in which the lacqueron the wire cloth is set and hardened. The cooling chamber 52 is open atthe top and bottom and is supplied with a cold air blast from the mainair supply pipe 21 by a branch supply pipe 53'. From the cooling chamber52 the wire cloth passes around the pulling machine P and is ready to berolled in packages for the market.

While we have shown a machine adapted particularly for galvanizing wirecloth it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular plating material used or the particular article plated as theapparatus isadapted to electro-plate with suitable substances similarcontinuous and flexible materials such as wire, woven wire fabric, wirenetting, etc., and furthermore we do not-wish to-be restricted to theexact details of construction as shown and described, as numerous"changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. An electro-plating apparatus comprising a plurality of separateelectro-deposition tanks containing electro-plating solutions, saidtanks being arranged in series and containing anodes, and means forsupplying electro-plating current to said anodes and solutions in theseparate tanks at the voltage. or amperage desired for each tank.

2. An electro-plating apparatus comprising a plurality of separateserially arranged electro plating tanks containing electroplatingsolutions and provided with anodes and with means for guiding throughthe solutions in the tanks the material to be electro-plated, and aplurality of separate electric generating units connected with saidanodes and arranged so-as to furnish electroplating current'to thesolutions in the different tanks at the voltage'or amperage desiredv foreach tank.

3. In. a machine for electro-plating and lacqueringjflexible material,the combination with theelectro-plating apparatus, of means adapted tolacquer the flexibleinaterial afterit leaves the electro-plating,apparatus and 1 while' the materialis still wet.

4c. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a seriesof tanks containing solutions, of means for guiding a continuous webofflexible material through the solutions in said tanks, and means forre-' moving "from said web the excess solution carried by it out of saidtanks, comprising a main fluid supplypipe extending-longitudinally ofthe series of tanks, and branch pipes connected to said main pipe, saidbranch pipes terminating in nozzles extending across said web near theplaces where the web leaves the solutions and adapted to remove fromsaid web the excess solution carried thereon out of said tanks.

5. In a machine for electro-plating and lacquering wire cloth, thecombination electro-plating tank containing an electro-- guiding saidflexible material through the solution therein, a lacquer tank providedwith means for guiding theflexible material therethrough, and means forguiding the flexible materialfrom the electro-plating tank to thelacquer tank and delivering the material to the lacquer tank while it isstill wet.

7. In amachine for electro-plating and galvanizing wire cloth andsimilar material comprising means for removing the grease and dirt fromsaid cloth, means for removing the oxid from'said cloth, means forelectro-plating said cloth, means for coating said cloth with lacquer,means for drying and baking the lacquer on said cloth, means for coolingthe lacquered cloth to set and harden the lacquer and means for drawingthe wire cloth through all of the foregoing means.

8. In a machine for electro-plating and lacquering wire cloth andsimilar material, the combination of a cleaning tank containing asolution for removing the grease and dirt frpm said cloth, a tankvcontaining 'a. solution for removing the-oxid from said wire cloth, anelectro-plating tank containing a solution'and anodes and connected to'after it leaveseach tank, means for drying and baking the lacquer on thewire cloth,

means for cooling the wire cloth after it leaves the drying and bakingmeans-Z and mean's' for pulling the wire' cloth through the machine.

9. In a machine for electro-plating and lacquering wire cloth andsimilar material,

the'combinationof a. cleaning tank containing a solution for removingthe grease and cloth, an electro-plating tank containing a solution andanodes andconnected to electric generating means for depositing a metalcovering on said wire'cloth, a tank containing lacquer for coating thewire cloth with lacquer, means for drying and baking the lacquer on thewire cloth, a cooling chamber through which said wire passes andin whichthe lacquer is setand hardened, anair pressure main,means connectingsaid air pressure main with said cooling chamber to suply a cold airblast thereto and branch pipes eadingfrom the'main pipe and terminatingin nozzles adjacent the Wire cloth at the points where it leaves thesuccessive treating liquids, said nozzles directing a blast of airagainst the surface of said wire cloth to blow therefrom the excessliquid carried on,

the wire cloth. Y

' 10. In a machine for electro-plating and lacquering wire cloth andsimilar material thefcombination of an electrolating apparatus, alacquer tank, means or guiding the material from the electro-platingapparatus to the lacquer tank, an oven for drying and baking the lacqueron the material after it leaves the lacquer tank, a cooling chamberthrough which. the material passes from the baking oven and in which thematerial is set and hardened and means for supplying cold air to saidcooling chamber.

11. Ina machine for electroplating and lacquering wire cloth and otherfieXible material, the combination of a tank containing anelectro-plating solution, said tank having anodes therein and means forguiding said flexible material through the solution therein, a lacquertank provided with means for-guiding the wire cloth therethrough, a Washtank between the electro-pla-ting tank and the lacquertank for washingthe electro-plating solution from. the-wire cloth, means for leading thewire cloth directly from the wash tank to the lacquer tank so natures. v

- JOHN J. MACE. JOHN ROY- MURR.

